Bria Kirkland Essay 1 “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe Imagine your favorite TV show, and think about the characters. Which character is your favorite? Most of us would say it is the main character, the one that is the most relatable. That character is called the protagonist, and it is often the one that we identify with the most. In contrast to the protagonist, a character we think about less often is the foil character. This character is the complete opposite of the main character. Usually, a foil goes through the same events as the main character however he will see things differently and have a different opinion. The purpose of this character is to shed light on the main character, and to show how things could work out differently …show more content…
He had no patience with unsuccessful men. He had no patience with his father (3, 4).” This vastly different contrast between Okonkwo and his father really shows how impressive Okonkwo’s success is. He was able to overcome the stigma of his lazy father, and became one of the most successful men in the village. Even from the one single line, that Okonkwo did not have patience for anyone who was not successful, and no patience for his father, we can see that Okonkwo is nothing like his father. Unoka’s lazy characteristics are used to emphasize Okonkwo’s desire throughout the book to be a hard worker, and to be successful. Ikemfuna, a boy sent to live with Okonkwo and his family, is not a foil for Okonkwo, but for Nwoye. If it were not for Ikemefuna, we would not be able to see Nwoye’s connection to his grandfather, Unoka. As Okonkwo’s oldest son, Nwoye is expected to be strong, and hardworking like his father. But when Ikemefuna joins the family, he becomes like the son Okonkwo never had. Ikemefuna and Okonkwo form a bond, a bond that Nwoye and Okonkwo were never able to have, and Ikemefuna even begins to call Okonkwo “father.” On the other hand, Okonkwo considers Nwoye to be weak and lazy because even though “Nwoye knew it was right to be
Okonkwo is initially introduced as a proud, hardworking, successful warrior. He is described as "clearly cut out for great things" (6). But he is the son of a ne'er-do-well father; though genial and inoffensive, Unoka must certainly have been considered a failure. He is lazy and does not provide for his family. Not only is this disgraceful, but life-threatening as well. He is dependent on other members of the clan and must have been considered unsuccessful. Okonkwo chafes under such disgrace and his success is a consequence of his desire to be everything his father is not; society's vision of an exemplar citizen. The fact that Okonkwo is able to rise above his poverty and disgraceful paternity illustrates the Igbo's acceptance of individual free will. But Okonkwo's fate and his disharmony with his chi, family and clan are shown to cause his ultimate disgrace and death.
When Ikemefuna came to Umuofia, Okonkwo “became very fond of the boy- inwardly of course… He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else- with the heavy hand. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy” (24). This establishes that Okonkwo loves Ikemefuna but because he wants to look strong and demonstrate power he shows little to no emotion of love towards him. Correspondingly, when Ikemefuna is facing his death, he runs to Okonkwo asking for help. As this happens Okonkwo, acting on impulse, slays Ikemefuna with his machete. Okonkwo try’s to act like he does not have affection for Ikemefuna, but the reader sees the reality when, after Ikemefuna’s death, “Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days…He drank palm-wine from morning till night…[and] did not sleep at night” (55). In other words, Okonkwo is mourning over the loss of Ikemefuna and. Though this is the case a close reader might see that Okonkwo’s impulse of killing Ikemefuna was because he wanted to seem strong but the evidence shows the reality of his emotion. One might conclude that Okonkwo can be loving and compassionate, but because of his need to look masculine his relationship with Ikemefuna is
He is very different form his father and in some way reminds us of Unoka who was a total opposite to Okonkwo. He is the black sheep and the scapegoat of the family, before Ikemefuna is in the house that becomes like an older brother to Nwoye and teaches him to be gentle but successfully masculine at the same time “ Nwoye’s mother was very kind to him. Treated him as one of there own children” (27) “ Nwoye … became quite inseparable form him” (28). Okonkwo approves of Nwoyes actions and stops the beatings. Although Nwoye is now a “real man “ he still misses his “feminine ways” for example music and the act o conversation.
Firstly, Okonkwo’s fear of being akin to his father plays a major role in characterising Okonkwo. This fear, in particular, is one of the earliest, in-depth portrayals of what motivates Okonkwo’s hard working nature and determination. Okonkwo’s distaste for his father, or men akin to his father, is first revealed in the characterisation of his father, Unoka. The quote: “He had no patience for unsuccessful men. He had no patience for his father” (ch1, pg3) shows the comparison of Okonkwo’s father to an unsuccessful man. This comparison allows the reader to infer that the Unoka held traits, such as inertia, and idleness, which made him unproductive. This is built upon further with the quote: “Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness... It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father… And so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion – to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness.” (Ch2, pg 12). This use of direct characterisation to portray Okonkwo’s father reveals what Okonkwo is afraid of becoming by describing the attitudes displayed by Unoka that Okonkwo, therefore, avidly tries to avoid. This allows the reader to infer a reason for
In Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the characters Ikemefuna and Obierika are used as “foil characters,” and reveal pertinent traits of Okonkwo’s true nature. The traits of Ikemefuna and Obierika contrast the traits Okonkwo, and allow the reader greater insight into Okonkwo’s fear of emasculation and his trepidation for the transformation of Igbo culture. Both Obierika and Ikemefuna accentuate the abhorrence Okonkwo has for becoming epicene and opprobrious like his father. Obierika also is skeptical of the Igbo culture in that he questions aspects of Igbo traditions and rituals, for he feels a certain degree of change may benefit their society. Furthermore, Ikemefuna’s character also reveals not only Okonkwo’s fear of emasculation, but
Ikemefuna: Ikemefuna was a lad given to Okonkwo due to the murder that occurred to Umuofia's daughter in a market. Ikemefuna stays in Okonkwo’s household and starts calling him his father. Ikemefuna also becomes best friends with Nwoye. Later in chapter 8, Ikemefuna is told that he is going home but ends up being murdered for no reason.
First off, Okonkwo is the son of cowardly and lazy Unoka. At an early age, Okonkwo grows a remorseful shame towards his father. As Okonkwo grows up, he aims to be nothing like his father because of what he put Okonkwo through. He strives to be productive, wealthy, brave, violent, and anything that he considered “soft”. Once Okonkwo escapes the embarrassment of his father, he is able to become a successful farmer and an excellent wrestler.
In the 19th century, the Europeans started colonizing Africa without African consent. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, a nigerian writer who grew up with both the Igbo and European culture, the story follows Okonkwo, a strong willed protagonist, and how his relationships and surroundings change with the entering Europeans. In the story, Okonkwo had fallen apart along with the Igbo culture. In the beginning of the story, Okonkwo shows no emotions other than anger, because he does not want to become womanly, similar to his father.
Okonkwo, the son of lazy Unoka, hungers to get his way in the world and
In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, rising modern ideals challenge the traditional values in Ibo culture. These confronting principles influence changes formed through chaos and disarray. While some Ibo people are more welcoming to the newer concepts, Okonkwo, a strong warrior, famous wrestler and well known leader in the Umuofia clan stays true to his traditional ways. The devout man assures himself to not stray from the traditional path due to haunting memories of his lazy father Unoka. At a young age Okonkwo concluded to vigorously work on not become his disgraceful father. In the end, Okonkwo’s life becomes dictated by his conscious will to oppose to his father, contributing to several problems with his family, friends and
In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, he uses language to elaborate the African cultures and traditions before European colonization occurred. Chinua Achebe was born and raised in a village of Nigeria. Therefore, he has a high understanding of the African culture. This novel takes place around the 19th century in Nigeria. During this time, it was a male-dominated society, women were excluded and marginalized. Men were seen as the superior gender. They were illustrated to be strong and powerful. Women on the other hand were seen as useless, but without them, the Ibo society would fall apart.
For centuries, women have been and continue to be the quiet leaders and the backbone of our society. Although they are often times not in high positions of power they are powerful, and vital for society to function. In Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, it is clear that women are viewed as the weaker sex. Throughout the novel, women are treated as property, shown as weak, and are ruled by men. Okonkwo's greatest fears are failure and weakness. When he was a child he learned that, "… agbala was not only another name for woman, it could also mean a man who had taken no title" (Achebe, p.13). Although they are viewed as weak and powerless, when Okonkwo returns to his motherland, Uchendu explains to him that, "… when there is sorrow and bitterness
At the conclusion of Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart it states how profound changes lead to the demise of Umuofia’s great warrior. “ Then they came to the tree from which Okonkwo’s body was dangling, and they stopped dead.”
Okonkwo is a respected leader of the Igbo tribe. He works hard and does not like to show emotion other than anger because his father, Unoka, was very lazy and not reputable. There is a dispute with another village where a woman is accidently killed, and Umuofia demands a virgin and a young man in place of a war. Okonkwo brings back Ikemefuna and takes him into his home under instructions from the village. The boy becomes like a son to him, but when it is time, Okonkwo kills him for fear of being seen as weak. Later, Okonkwo accidentally kills a young boy at a funeral, but he is exiled for seven years. While he is away in Mbanta, the Europeans arrive at Umuofia and begin to convert the Igbo people to Christianity. Just as Okonkwo returns to his village,
In continuation of the construction of Okonkwo, he is the epitome of the culture’s idea of success in sharp contrast to his father, Unoka. Unoka plays a paramount role in the novel by juxtaposing Okonkwo’s character completely. He is “a loafer” and “poor and his wife and children rarely had enough to eat” (5). In addition he “piled up his debts” (5), and when he died he “had no title at all” (8) and did not give his son a “barn to inherit” (16). The exhibition of these characteristics of Unoka represents